Goto.com hurdles Q4 expectations

After market close Monday, the business search engine operator reported a net loss of $7.2 million, or 17 cents per share. First Call's survey of four analysts predicted a loss of 40 cents per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31.

Fourth quarter revenue of $13.3 million represents a 58 percent sequential improvement from $8.4 million in the third quarter. Goto.com, known for its search engine which ranks entries based on how much advertisers pay, saw paid clicks rise to more than 73 million from above 54 million in the third quarter.

Advertisers paid an average of 17 cents per paid click in the fourth quarter, compared to 14 cents in the third. Goto.com had 21,000 advertisers at the end of the year, compared to 16,000 in September.

For the full year, Goto.com lost $29.3 million, or 77 cents per share, on revenue of $26.8 million.

The company announced plans to expand outside the United States. Goto.com plans to open a U.K. office this year.

Shares of Goto.com rose as high as 99 in afterhours activity on the Island network. The stock closed Monday's regular trading at 92, up 1 3/16 for the session.>